Yenigün, a prominent local newspaper in İzmir, had its printing blocked by the İhlas Printing House after it attempted to publish a front-page story about a religious group's involvement in student housing.
The story was about the opening of a large dormitory by the Islamic community known as Işıkçılar, critically examining the role such groups play in student housing, which has been a topic of contention in the country in recent years. Critics argue that with rising housing costs and a shortage of state dormitories, religious communities are stepping in to provide cheaper accommodation, using it as an opportunity to expand their influence by attracting students.
The printing house, one of the few major printing houses for newspapers in Turkey, owned by İhlas Holding, known to be linked to the Işıkçılar group, refused to print the paper with that headline, Hakan Dirik, editor-in-chief of Yenigün, revealed in an article on the newspaper’s website. The newspaper had to change its front page in order to be published. The altered cover page contained a picture of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the republic, with the headline “Rest in Light,” an implicit reference to the Işıkçılar group, whose name roughly translates to “followers of light.”
Dirik noted that If the newspaper hadn’t been printed, it could have faced sanctions that would jeopardize the job security of its 30 employees. “"In times of coup regimes, newspapers would sometimes go to print with blank front pages. At least we managed to avoid that, but our headline was published without the actual story," he wrote.
Condemnation from union
The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) condemned the incident as "a black mark in the history of journalism." TGS shared the censored headline on social media, saying that "the attempt to prevent the spread of information in 2024 is futile."
“The history of the press in Turkey is full of raids on printing houses, newspaper confiscations ordered by the prosecutors, publication bans and newspaper closures. The censorship of today's headline of the İzmir daily Yenigün by the printing house is a black stain that will go down in the history of the press,” wrote the union.
“It is 2024 and it is not possible to prevent the spread of information. In order to both teach the censors a lesson and to announce our solidarity with our colleagues at Yenigün, we publish the headline that was not delivered to the readers today.” (VK)